The NDNR (Nebraska Department of Natural Resources) divides the wells into three categories, but uses only two.  The first category is Quick Response (QR) wells.  These are wells that are within 1 mile of the center of any permanent stream.  [At the July NRD information meeting, it sounds like this has increased to 2 miles.]  All other wells are placed in the upland category.  

According to the NDNR, for every 1000 gallons we stop pumping from an upland well , the river will increase its flow by about 2 gallons.  For every 1000 gallons we stop pumping from a QR well, the river will increase its flow by 3 to 10 gallons.  According to the NDNR, the range is affected by the volume we stop pumping.  The less we pump, the greater the percentage of each 1000 gallons (that we don't pump) that makes it to the river.

The State has not been giving the public these numbers, nor has it made clear to the NRDs what the numbers are.  From comments made by the NDNR, many in the public and many of the NRD board members believe that a reduction in groundwater pumping will have a much greater benefit than what the NDNR's data actually supports.  Many are under the impression that the depletion to a stream by an upland well is about 15% of that well's pumpage and that the depletion caused by a QR well is somewhere between 30% and 100%.

In actuality, the NDNR numbers say the depletion to stream flow caused by an upland well is about two tenths of one percent.  That means that 99.8% of the water used by an upland well has no effect on the stream flow, according to the NDNR data.  For a QR well, the numbers have a greater range, but are still a miniscule portion of the flow.  QR effect on depletion ranges between .3% to 1%.  That means that 99.0% to 99.7% of a QR's pumpage does not affect stream flow, according to the NDNR.

One of two things is happening.  Either the NDNR's numbers are very wrong, or there is a group of people trying to use the Republican River issue to control aquifer pumping. 

The State has turned all authority to control ground water usage over to the local NRDs.  The State has no authority, even under the newly passed LB 962, to control aquifer use, except as it affects stream flow.  Yet, the State is attempting to encourage the NRDs into accepting severe limits on aquifer use -- even though their own data says the impact of the aquifer on the stream is very, very minimal.

The plan is to reduce all groundwater pumping by 10% and restrict all Quick Response well pumping by 50%.  This means reducing aquifer use by upland wells by about 175,000 acre feet for a net savings to the stream flow of 1,600 acre feet.   There are 256,814 QR acres in the Nebraska portion of the Republican River.  In 2002, the QR wells used 460,675 acre of water.  The NDNR is asking that this usage be reduced by half, or 230,338 acre feet.  The saving generated by such a cut would be between 691 acre feet and 2,303 acre feet. 

According to the State, if these cuts had been made in 2002, they would have resulted in a savings to stream flow of  23,511 acre feet.  This is a very different number than their other data supports.  Even if one uses the State's numbers, that are not supported by their own data, we are being asked to stop using 407,838 acre feet of water for a net impact on the stream flow of 23,511 acre feet.  This means 5.8% of each gallon pumped from the aquifer would have flowed into the stream.  For every 1000 gallons not pumped, we would see the stream flow increase by 58 gallons.

It is WaterClaim's belief that there are far more efficient methods of complying with the requirement to provide Kansas with water.  The method used by the State and adopted by some of the NRDs is like using a net to move water.